West Virginia Awards $4.4 Million Settlement in Child Abuse Case

Five Black children who endured severe abuse and were forced into labor on their adoptive parents' property have been awarded a $4.4 million settlement from the state of West Virginia. The payout addresses alleged failures by Child Protective Services (CPS) in their handling of repeated reports concerning the children's welfare.

The settlement, the maximum allowable under state limitations, will be distributed into trusts for the victims to aid in their recovery from the trauma they experienced. Attorney Dante' di Trapano, who represented the children, stated that the settlement offers them an opportunity to experience childhood, which he said was stolen by their former parents.

In October 2023, authorities discovered the children locked in a shed at the Sissonville home of adoptive parents Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 63, and Donald Lantz, 64. The shed lacked light, food, and running water, and investigators found a camera recording the children. Detectives determined the children were locked in from the outside, contradicting Whitefeather's claim that the shed served as a 'teenage clubhouse.' Authorities also found a nine-year-old girl locked inside the main house.

During the trial, neighbors testified to witnessing Lantz making the children perform strenuous tasks, such as carrying heavy fencing and buckets of water. The children were found with poor body odor, dirty clothing, and sores on their feet. The oldest child testified that her parents made her dig with her hands, provided only peanut butter sandwiches, and forced the siblings to use a bucket for a bathroom. Racist text messages were also presented as evidence, with the child recalling her parents referring to her as 'dirty' and refusing to eat from the same plates.

Despite multiple calls from neighbors reporting disturbing scenes, CPS allegedly failed to adequately investigate. Di Trapano claimed that CPS documentation did not show contact with the children, with one instance involving an interview conducted while Lantz and Whitefeather were within earshot. A spokesperson for West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey stated that the employee who conducted that specific interview had been terminated by a previous administration. The current administration has implemented changes, including restructuring leadership and enhancing training, and is utilizing the 'SAFE Model' for child welfare case assessments.

Previously, in the year preceding the settlement, Whitefeather and Lantz were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Whitefeather received a 215-year sentence with parole eligibility after 40 years, while Lantz was sentenced to 160 years with parole eligibility after 30 years. Both were also ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution.

The children have since been placed with new adoptive families. Attorneys are also pursuing a lawsuit against the Washington Human Services Department, alleging that the agency approved the transfer of the children to West Virginia despite prior abuse reports against the couple. This potential suit has no monetary damage cap.

State lawmaker Del. Hollis Lewis plans to introduce legislation called the Child Captivity Prevention Act. This bill would require families moving to West Virginia who intend to homeschool their children to notify the Department of Human Services. Lewis stated that the intention is to prevent abusers from exploiting the state's homeschool policies and that the community's vigilance was crucial in uncovering the abuse.